$1M claim for broken arm on bus

Emotionally disturbed boy injured in struggle

By Brendan J. Lyons

Updated 6:44 am, Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Warning contains strong language: Jacob Gocheski's arm is broken by Rotterdam Police while being forcibly removed from a Mohonasen Transportation school bus. Police were called after the Gocheski, 16, threatened the bus driver.

Media: Times Union

Albany

A federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed against the Rotterdam Police Department by the parents of an emotionally disturbed boy whose arm was broken when two police officers tried to force him off a school bus last October.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Albany, doesn't specify an amount of the damages being sought, but a notice of claim filed with the town in January sought in excess of $1 million. The federal complaint alleges that two police officers who tussled with the boy when he refused to get off a bus used excessive force and were not properly trained to deal with an emotionally disturbed person.

The complaint was filed by Phillip and Rosemarie Gocheski on behalf of their son, Jacob, who was 16 at the time of the incident. According to the claim, Gocheski has been diagnosed with multiple emotional disorders, including Tourette syndrome, anxiety, bipolar disorder and pervasive development disorder.

A school bus camera captured the incident and showed the police officers talking for about 15 minutes to Gocheski, who was sitting alone on the bus two rows behind the empty driver's seat. When the officers eventually used force to remove him, a cracking sound could be heard as the boy's arm shattered between the shoulder and elbow as the officers bent his arm behind his back.

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Screen grab from surveillance video which shows Rotterdam Police officers forcefully removing Jacob Gocheski, 16, from a Mohonasen Transportation school bus after Gocheski threatened the bus driver. The Gocheski's arm was broken during the brief skirmish. (Courtesy Rotterdam Police) less

Screen grab from surveillance video which shows Rotterdam Police officers forcefully removing Jacob Gocheski, 16, from a Mohonasen Transportation school bus after Gocheski threatened the bus driver. The ... more

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Screen grab from surveillance video which shows Rotterdam Police officers forcefully removing Jacob Gocheski, 16, from a Mohonasen Transportation school bus after Gocheski threatened the bus driver. The Gocheski's arm was broken during the brief skirmish. (Courtesy of Rotterdam Police) less

Screen grab from surveillance video which shows Rotterdam Police officers forcefully removing Jacob Gocheski, 16, from a Mohonasen Transportation school bus after Gocheski threatened the bus driver. The ... more

$1M claim for broken arm on bus

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The complaint alleges that the teenager's "injuries and deprivation of rights ... were the result of the town's negligence and deliberate indifference to the plight of the emotionally disturbed in failing to properly hire, screen, train, and supervise its employees and police officers with respect to the proper techniques necessary to secure a person in mental distress."

Kevin A. Luibrand, an attorney for the family, declined to comment on Tuesday. He previously had said the teenager's medications were being adjusted at the time, limiting his ability to move.

The incident unfolded on the morning of Oct. 9, 2013, in the driveway of the teenager's Rotterdam home. In January, after town police were questioned about the incident, Rotterdam Police Chief James Hamilton issued a statement saying an internal review determined that "officers followed department protocol and procedures." A department spokesman declined comment on Tuesday, citing a policy not to discuss a pending lawsuit.

Warning contains strong language: Jacob Gocheski's arm is broken by Rotterdam Police while being forcibly removed from a Mohonasen Transportation school bus. Police were called after the Gocheski, 16, threatened the bus driver.

Media: Times Union

Gocheski was charged with obstructing governmental administration, a misdemeanor, but the case was later dismissed in Rotterdam Town Court. He was taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment after being removed from the bus.

The officers involved in the incident, Sgt. Daniel Ryan and Officer Ronald Armstrong, are also listed as defendants in the federal lawsuit. Police were called after the driver said he felt he could not safely transport Gocheski to school at Parsons Child and Family Center, "based on threats that the student made in an aggressive manner," police said in the release issued in late January.

Gocheski's brother, another teenager and a female aide could be seen on the video sitting nearby as the police officers spoke with Gocheski's mother and tried to persuade him to leave the bus.

Gocheski sat silently with his head down as Ryan could be heard trying to convince him to get off the bus. "What are we going to do here?" Ryan asked. "You can either walk off the bus, or we can drag you off the bus, strap you on a stretcher and take you to Ellis Hospital. You can walk off the bus like a young man or we can hogtie you."

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"If we have to fight, someone might get hurt," Armstrong said.

The video showed Armstrong and Ryan pull Gocheski out of his seat and push him standing into an empty seat across the aisle. Ryan twisted the teenager's left arm as he tried to place him in handcuffs and the arm suddenly snapped.

"Ahhh (expletive). Oh, God ... Ahhhh ...You broke my (expletive) arm," Gocheski yelled between groans of pain as the two officers walked him off the bus.